


Harmony

by Amwhimsical



Category: Food Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 03:43:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17317430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amwhimsical/pseuds/Amwhimsical
Summary: Black Tea doesn't like Sweet Tofu.





	Harmony

**Author's Note:**

> I've written this ff back in October for a writing challenge on Amino.  
> And now I want to share the angst on here too.
> 
> A few things you need to know are:  
> 1\. This is my take on the FF universe and characters, so you shouldn't consider everything I've written as canon.  
> 2\. I didn't give many details on the secondary characters and I tried to leave the "Master Attendant" character as blank as possible because this is part of my bigger fanfiction that I may post one day. I didn't wanna spoil anything.  
> 3\. It's not a linear story, but a sequence of scenes. The first three ones are seen from Black Tea's perspective, and the last three ones are seen from Sweet Tofu's perspective.
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy it!!

❛ ━━━━━━･ ❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

Black Tea didn’t like Sweet Tofu.  
She didn’t like having him around, nor did she approve of her Master Attendant welcoming him to the team.  
But she had no choice.  
She was not going to openly oppose her Master’s decision – it just wasn’t like her. Above all, she didn’t want to explain the reason why she didn’t like Sweet Tofu. She knew it was immature of her to be still stuck in the past, but she really couldn’t get herself to accept him or trust him.  
Thinking rationally, she knew that healing powers always came in handy, so she had to endure it for the team’s sake.  
How ironic. The one who had hurt her in the past – and who seemed to have a penchant for hurting people in general – was a healer.  
Black Tea tried not to benefit of his skills very often. She was too proud to ask for his help, and she also knew how much he liked seeing people beg for it – she would rather not give him that kind of satisfaction. Being teased and stared at by those odd eyes was already draining enough.  
She thought she’d be the only one feeling that way, but apparently even her teammates had not bonded with Sweet Tofu yet.  
Bamboo Rice, who was a natural at talking to people and making them feel at ease, had been pretty much ignored by him. Black Tea could see that the green haired Food Soul he had not given up, but as time went by, he was surely going to lose his enthusiasm – or at least, that’s how it would have been for her.  
As for Foie Gras, it was hard to tell what she thought of Sweet Tofu. She didn’t seem to feel troubled when addressing him to ask for assistance, but then again she treated everyone with the same diplomatic indifference and she only spoke when it was strictly necessary. She had only recently started to warm up to the team and their Master, which meant that it was still too early to tell.  
Out of the three of them, Black Tea was the one who knew Sweet Tofu better, and that was saying something. Every past meeting with him had been a chance for him to remind her about her most painful experiences. That was the main reason why she preferred avoiding him – the mere sight of him brought up memories she would have rather left buried deep into her mind.  
And yet, seeing him all by himself caused her to feel uneasy. It was unpleasant, like a sour note that compromised the harmony of the whole team.  
She needed to find a way to fix things. It was all up to her.  
But what could she do? 

❁ • ❁ • ❁

It was a warm, orange afternoon, and the four Souls were preparing to leave for a quest, along with their Master Attendant. They had taken a room at a countryside inn, and they were almost done with packing. Black Tea had gone through the list of what they needed for the umpteenth time; she always paid attention to every detail, because she wanted to make sure they completed their assigned jobs as safely and as quickly as possible.  
After she checked that everything was in place, she folded the list and stepped outside. She noticed Bamboo Rice who was babbling excitedly to their Master about something she couldn’t quite catch, while Foie Gras was busy cleaning her silver scepter with the utmost care. The sight of her refined and noble figure in such a humble place was something she still had to get used to.  
Sweet Tofu was sitting close by, and it looked like he was reading something. She let out a quiet sigh and headed towards him, but before she could speak he pushed the paper he had been holding into her hands. He met her eyes, his usual smirk on his lips. She looked down, immediately recognizing the paper as their job request.  
«Wouldn’t you feel better if I didn’t come?»  
She looked at him again, the question leaving her confused for a moment.  
True, she definitely would have felt more comfortable without having to worry about his constant teasing and menacing presence, but that was not the point. It was the first time he had ever asked such a thing, and he surely didn’t strike her as a particularly considerate Soul.  
Something was not right.  
«I don’t let personal matters get into my line of work. You are needed for our team’s sake, and whether you come or not is not up to me to decide.»  
He chuckled in response and stood up. He began walking away, but not without shooting her a final mischievous glance.  
«My, my. It seems like you’re finally starting to change.»  
Black Tea frowned. She hated how he acted like he knew her, but what she hated the most was that he was probably right.  
She really was changing. 

❁ • ❁ • ❁

It was nearly midday when they had reached a quaint, welcoming Light Kingdom restaurant. Their Master Attendant had talked to the owner – the one who had requested their help. Apparently, he suspected that a Fallen Angel was keeping clients away and depleting his food stock.  
To Black Tea it didn’t sound like a hard task to complete. They simply had to keep watch, spot the anomalies and get rid of them; she was sure that they would be done by the end of the day.  
They decided that splitting up would be the most favorable approach. Bamboo Rice and Foie Gras would stay in the dining room, along with their Master Attendant, while Black Tea and Sweet Tofu would guard the storeroom.  
Black Tea tried to convince herself that their Master hadn’t paired them up on purpose, but it wasn’t that easy to believe.  
Without much left to do, she headed to the storeroom. She glanced to her side to make sure that Sweet Tofu was following her. She noticed that he was biting his thumb and looking around with narrowed eyes, as if he was looking for something. Unexpectedly, he had wasted the chance to make a snarky comment on their current situation, but Black Tea was not going to complain.  
The room was filled with wooden shelves, lined with different kinds of jams, preserves and grains. There were large crates stacked up in the back, and she could see sacks of rice and potatoes in every corner. It was messier than she anticipated, which meant that she needed to be even more careful.  
She began searching the room for any anomalies, checking every place she could think of. She got completely immersed in her task and didn’t think of anything else for a while, but as soon as she was done, she began wondering about how it was going for the rest of the team. She could probably afford to briefly check on them, since Sweet Tofu was still–  
It was then that she suddenly became aware of his absence.  
He was nowhere to be seen.  
Black Tea hurriedly jogged between the shelves, looking for him. She stopped still when she spotted him, sitting on his knees in front of the cold room’s door.  
«Did you check inside?», she asked, slowly walking closer.  
He seemed startled by her voice. He turned to look at her, his eyes wide as he scooted away from the door.  
«No – it’s not safe – you can’t go in there.»  
She stared at him in silence, not sure what to think. Had he really seen something inside the cold room, or was he too shaken to enter? If there really was an anomaly they had to get rid of it – she couldn’t ignore it.  
«Did you see it?»  
Sweet Tofu didn’t reply. Instead, he covered his face with both hands and hunched his shoulders.  
She had never seen him looking so miserable, and for a moment she was frozen to her spot. It was only a moment, though: she went to kneel in front of him and she placed a hand on his shoulder.  
«Please, tell me what you saw.» 

❁ • ❁ • ❁

The sickening stench of blood.  
Blocks of ice.  
Hands. Faces.  
God, their faces. They must have been in pain.  
But the worst part was that he felt responsible; he felt that their deaths were also his fault.  
He should have noticed how his Master Attendant had been feeling. He shouldn’t have ignored those little details, he shouldn’t have told himself that everything was normal and that it would soon pass.  
When Sweet Tofu discovered the corpses hidden in the cold room of his Master’s restaurant, he knew that it was far too late. The man had lost all of his humanity, and he was not going to stop. It was just a matter of time until he was going to be found out, and surely his twin brother and him were going to be blamed too. Perhaps, that had been their Master’s plan all along – making them his scapegoats. Humans were more likely to believe other humans rather than Food Souls: that was the harsh truth.  
Sweet Tofu needed to come up with a plan, as quickly as possible. His master was beyond recovery, but he still had to try to save himself and his brother.  
Naturally, it took him some time.  
He wasn’t prepared for his life to be turned upside down – no one ever is.  
However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of a way for him and his brother to come out unscathed.  
After much pondering he decided that, in order to protect his brother, he had no choice but to go down along with his Master.  
The plan was ready, but what about him?  
The number of bodies in the cold room increased day by day, but on the other hand, so did his sense of guilt, the frequency of his nightmares and his desire to put an end to that madness. He couldn’t bear it any longer.  
And then he knew that it was time.  
He told his brother that he had heard of a flourishing town beyond the mountains, which had gained popularity for its rare spices and new recipes. He suggested that he went over there to buy some goods and learn new cooking techniques, because that would have helped their Master to find new enthusiasm in cooking. Salty Tofu had accepted, and he didn’t seem to suspect anything.  
Sweet Tofu was left alone with his Master. He didn’t know how much time he had until his brother found out he had lied, so he needed to act quickly. He couldn’t risk it – he had too much to lose.  
The next night, after closing the restaurant, Sweet Tofu asked his master to meet in the kitchen.  
He waited for him to come, tightly holding a knife in his hand. 

❁ • ❁ • ❁

Sweet Tofu screamed while clutching his head.  
A loud noise caught his attention and he slowly looked up. Black Tea was fighting a Fallen Angel, right in front of him. He could see that she was injured, which meant that it was up to him to help. He looked down at his shaking hands, he was horrified to see them coated in blood. A muffled cry left his lips and he frantically started to scratch them, desperately trying to wipe it off.  
«Pull yourself together–!»  
Black Tea grabbed him by his wrists and locked gazes with him. Her hair looked messy, she had lost her hat and she was glowing with the heat of the fight. She had a wild side – and surprisingly, it suited her quite well.  
«You’re safe», she slowly articulated those words, as if trying to convince him, «We’ll get out of here soon, so...hang in there.»  
He nodded and looked down at his hands, noticing that they were now clean; perhaps, they had never been dirty in the first place.  
She let go of him and he promptly conjured up two of his healing bubbles. He directed them to her body, and in the blink of an eye all cuts and bruises disappeared from her skin.  
«Thank you», she briefly bowed her head, then she looked to the door, «I can hear our Master and the others fighting in the next room. We better handle this by ourselves. Do you think you can do it?»  
Her rusty red eyes looked into his own ones again. Sweet Tofu was almost taken aback, as it was quite rare for her to look at him directly. Black Tea disliked him, he knew he deserved it, but he had been wrong about her all along. Despite her weakness, she was strong and reliable. He had crumbled under the weight of his painful memories, but she had stood firmly and lived with hers.  
And that was what he wanted to do too.  
He stood up, a tentative smile on his lips.  
«I can try.»  
The Fallen Angel’s cry echoed through the room, and a multitude of tentacles streamed out of the cold room. Black Tea gave him a look before running towards their source, and he followed her without fear or hesitation. 

❁ • ❁ • ❁

«There’s one thing I want to ask.»  
Black Tea was sitting next to him as they watched the night sky become filled with stars.  
Sweet Tofu had a hunch on what her question was going to be about, but he had made up his mind. He planned on being honest with her, at least on personal matters.  
«Ask away.»  
She hesitated, maybe thinking of a more delicate way to word it.  
«Did you do it, in the end?»  
He knew what she was referring to, and he wanted to give her a proper explanation.  
«I couldn’t. Actually, he attacked me first.»  
Out of habit, he reached a hand up to mess with the wine colored choker around his neck. Black Tea seemed concerned, to which he raised his hands and shook his head.  
«It’s nothing. In a way, he saved me from turning into a monster. I don’t resent him – not anymore.»  
Black Tea became silent, but he didn’t want it to turn awkward. That was the first time he had felt comfortable enough to open up about his past, and it wasn’t a bad feeling at all.  
«You know, this must be the longest talk we’ve ever had.»  
She looked away, a hint of indifference in her voice.  
«Don’t get your hopes up. It doesn’t mean I forgive you.»  
He chuckled at her reaction. She was back to her usual defensive attitude.  
«Of course, I know.»  
Everything was back to normal, but for the first time, her harsh words had given him comfort.  
And he liked it like that.  
That was their kind of harmony. 

❛ ━━━━━━･ ❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜


End file.
